Everything
by MandyShepard
Summary: The war is taking its toll on Shepard, her health is declining, she's showing signs of extreme stress and Kaidan is concerned about her. Something has to be done. With a little help from the crew he organises for her to have the night off, and what better way to spend it then by having a date night with the Normandy's most romantic biotic.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** Ok peeps, here is my fluff piece. Stick with it, this Chapter is setting the scene so no fluff just yet. But, as I promised CyanB, this will be fluffier than a pure bred angora bunny. There will also be fluffy smut (hence the M rating), and you can go ahead and blame CyanB for that too :0)

* * *

~*Chapter One*~

He watched her from the war room doorway, concern evident on his handsome features. To say Rannock had been a gruelling mission was an understatement. It had been a seemingly endless series of difficult battles, culminating in Shepard going toe to toe with a Reaper. A shiver ran up his spine as he remembered the sight. She looked so small and venerable aiming up at the towering synthetic behemoth. He was sure he was going to lose her again and he knew he wouldn't survive that, not again, not this time.

When the Reaper fell, the wave of relief and elation that spread among the ground forces was palpable. A real shot in the arm for everyone, something positive to hang on to. Right now, the way things were, they all needed that. _Shepard_ needed that. But as always it seemed like there was a steep price to pay for every victory they fought hard for and won. The price this time was Legion. The Geth had sacrificed itself –_himself_- just as he had achieved true consciousness. He gave his life to save the rest of the consensus.

He had seen the look of devastation on Shepard's face as the Geth crumpled to the ground. He hadn't been there as they took on the collectors, hadn't served with him but he didn't need to, to know that Shepard cared about Legion. He had been part of her crew, and she was fiercely committed to those who worked and fought alongside her. It was one of the many reasons people gladly walked into hell at her side. She had already lost two people close to her heart, Mordin on Tuchanka and Thane at the hands of Kai Lang. She had taken the loss of the assassin particularly hard. When Kaidan broached the subject with Garrus, he gave him some insight in to the depth of their connection. Thane and Shepard seemed to connect on a spiritual level, two kindred spirits. Gentle natured beings who, through upbringing or circumstance, developed a proclivity for battle, for the art of war.

She had not yet begun to confront her feelings of loss after Thane's passing, and now she had to content with this on top of it.

He was worried about her. From the moment he'd come on board he could see the difference in her. The wild fire that he glimpsed in her eyes back on the SR1, the fire that made her the most impressive marine he had ever seen, had dimmed. She spent less time with the crew, no long personal debriefs. All most people got was a nod as she strode past datapad in hand, her brow furrowed in concentration. She was rarely in the mess hall at meal time and he knew she wasn't getting enough sleep.

Since their official 'reunion' at Apollo's on the Citadel, he'd spent just about every night in her cabin. He made sure to rise early so he could sneak back to Starboard Observation of course; they were command officers and needed to maintain a level of professional appearance. When he woke up she was always showered dressed and either hunched over her terminal or, more likely, gone completely. That coupled with the fact that she woke several times a night, drenched in sweat and shaking as the images of her nightmares faded, meant she must be getting only two or three hours sleep a night. Nobody could survive on that long. Especially a marine with the weight of the galaxy on their shoulders, and physically and emotionally strenuous mission before them most days. She was going to burn out.

He watched her now, trying to make her way to the QEC room for a briefing with Hackett and Anderson. An endless barrage of questions and proffered datapads blocking her path. She dutifully waded her way though the issues and problems with a look of sheer exhaustion. Her usually commanding posture was slipping. Her shoulders slumped and there was visibly less determination in her stride. Her complexion was pale and sallow. Her eyes, usually so bright and alive, had a ghostly absent quality to them now, highlighted by the dark circles that underscored them.

She hadn't stopped since they came back to the Normandy from Rannock. She'd stowed her gear before checking in with Traynor. Following that she'd suffered through one of Allers' monotonous, inane interviews. He really had no time for that woman, especially after Shepard told him about the sleazy pass Allers made at her. She'd had a meeting with Tali, where she received an update on Rannock's situation. And now she was off for a vid conference that was likely to last a good hour at least.

Something had to be done.

"EDI?"

"Yes Major." Kaidan turned round on reflex, expecting to see her there and was greeted by an empty doorway. He was still getting used to the VI's omnipresence aboard the Normandy.

"Can you and Traynor meet me in the conference room right away please? Oh and EDI, be discreet."

"Of course Major."

With a sigh, Kaidan turned from Shepard and made his way to the conference room just behind him.

He had to do something for her, and as he stood in the small glass room, staring out at the vastness of space rolling on endlessly before him, he began to formulate a plan.

* * *

"Major Alenko" Traynor's smooth English accent broke through his thoughts. "You wanted to see us?"

He turned to greet them, clasping his hands firmly behind his back. "EDI, would you mind?" He gestured to the open doorway with a curt nod.

With a wave of her omni-tool EDI activated privacy mode. Anybody walking past would see the same open doorway, designed in such a way to promote free and open discussion. What they wouldn't see was the audio cancelling field; it not only blocked the ambient ship noise from being heard within the room, but also stopped whatever was being discussed inside the room from being heard by passers by.

EDI nodded to confirm the field was in place.

"Does the Normandy currently have a destination laid in?"

"Yes Major. The commander just ordered our return to the Citadel. Joker has plotted our course and is making his way to the first relay." Kaidan nodded and turned to Traynor.

"Do we know the reason for our return?"

"The commander was contacted by the Asari councillor on her return to the Normandy. She has requested a private meeting with the Commander." He liked Traynor, she was fastidious in her work and he admired that in a marine.

"Did the councillor give any indication what the meeting was about? Is there anything that Shepard would need to prep?"

Traynor paused momentarily, no doubt mentally re-examining the message. "None that I picked up on Major, the councillor seemed very guarded in her message."

Kaidan nodded, happy to trust the specialist. She had a real knack for picking up on subtleties; it's what made her so good at her job. He turned his attention back to EDI. "You monitor the vitals of the crew, correct?"

"That is correct Major. My sensors constantly monitor the crew while they are onboard, and via their suits environment sensors while they are ashore." Her synthetic face quirked a fraction, her interest piqued.

"Give me a run down of Shepard's current condition." EDI paused, her head cocking slightly to the side. Kaidan understood her reservation stemmed from the fact that it was not protocol to discuss the Commanders medical status with another crew member. "I'm asking as a superior officer and a field medic EDI. I have concerns about her medical state and I don't want it to adversely affect our mission."

This was all true of course, but it wasn't his primary motivation. He was worried about the woman he loved, and it pained him to see her the way she was now.

EDI's posture straightened and she mirrored his stance, clasping her hands behind her back. "Commander Shepard is exhibiting multiple symptoms associated with extreme stress and fatigue. She is displaying signs of tachycardia – pulse rate on average 120-130 bpm. She also has fluctuating blood pressure levels, at times presenting as borderline hypertension, bp 141/91. I have observed she is experiencing significant drops in her bp. For example, 30 minutes ago the Commander lost her balance while standing in the lift. When challenged, she advised she was experiencing dizziness and light headedness; these are common signs of hypotension. I reported this incident to Dr Chakwas, but the Commander refused an assessment."

With a quick tap of her omni-tool, EDI brought up the results of Shepard's last physical examination for comparison. "As you can see, this is a noticeable deviation from her baseline heath observations."

And there it was in black and white. The recorded decline of her health, glowing before his eyes. Kaidan's brow knitted and he crossed his arms before him, his thumb absent-mindedly stroking across his lower lip.

"Additionally I have noted changes in her dietary intake. She is presently not consuming enough calories to maintain her body mass. Her most recent metabolic scan has shown a marked decrease in her electrolytes and trace element levels. This indicates that the Commander is suffering iron and multiple vitamin deficiencies. Essentially, the Commander is malnourished. This is a significant concern, especially when taking into account her accelerated metabolism due to her biotics, and cybernetic implants. Dr Chakwas has recorded a weight loss of 15 lbs in the last month."

_Jesus_, why hadn't he notice that?

"Her sleep patterns are erratic and there has been a noted decrease in her hand eye coordination and response times."

Hearing her current condition listed out in a string of hard facts was unpleasant. It was worse than he had initially thought. He couldn't begin to imagine the pressure she was under right now, what it was doing to her mentally and physically. But he knew he could help, the Commander needed a night off. "How long until we reach the Citadel?"

"We should dock in around 16 hours Major."

He unclasped his hands and leant forward resting them firmly on the cool surface of the conference table. "Right, I have a plan but I'm going to need your help, both of you."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:** Thanks so much to everyone who has favourited, followed and reviewed. It really does make my day. So here is chapter two, thankfully longer than the last one and they will be longer still going forward. I had a hard time splitting the fic. Didn't want to stop Kaidan mid romancing, well who would right?

In this chapter i kinda dip my toe in to the fluff, chapter three... I may drown in it.

Hope you enjoy!

* * *

~*Chapter Two*~

Shepard lent against the console rail in the vid-com room. Her lower back and shoulders ached from standing in one spot for too long. _How long had they been on?_ She glanced down at the control panel... Christ, coming up on two hours now.

Hackett had signed off, leaving her with Anderson, her mentor. He looked as tired as she felt. There was a small cut on his neck and he was covered with dust and detritus. She had hated leaving him behind on Earth, alone. The image of him standing tall on the wreckage of Vancouver, as the reapers decimated the city was a painful memory. She had desperately wanted to drag him onboard the Normandy, but the marine in her knew that it was the right decision for him to stay. Knowing that didn't make it any easier to see him like this now.

"How bad is it?" She asked, her voice soft with concern.

Anderson sighed, briefly closing his eyes. "I've lost count of our casualties."

"Can you still co-ordinate any kind of counter attack?"

Her mind feverishly began to calculate battle strategies based on what she knew of their location and the enemy forces. She knew that he was a seasoned officer, who knew what he was doing, but she couldn't help but feel protective of him. They had been through so much together.

Shepard continued to listen to his assessment of the situation grimly, feeling a twinge of unnerve at his admission of fear about the situation in London.

"I'll let you get back to it. We need whatever good news you can send our way. Anderson out."

Anderson's image shimmered into a sparkling static bust and he was gone. She closed her eyes and dipped her head, breathing slow and steady as her head began to swim again.

"Hey." Kaidan's husky voice instantly brought a smile to her face. She straightened and turned to greet him.

"Hey Kaidan."

"How's everything lining up?" he crossed the room in his usual steady gait and lent on the rail next to her, maintaining a profession distance.

They had agreed after their 'Sanity Check', that it was best for them to maintain a professional, detached visage when around the crew. Their haven was her cabin, or as Kaidan had affectionately dubbed it, their penthouse retreat.

Shepard sighed and her shoulders slumped a little more. "That good, eh?" Kaidan gave her a sympathetic smile. His hands twitched; he longed to pull her into an embrace and kiss her forehead.

Shepard ran through the main points of the vid-call. The update on support from the other council races. Mercenary integration into field operations. Updates on current reaper battles being waged and progress on the Crucibles construction.

"Any news on the current situation back on Earth?" his lips pressed into a hard line. He couldn't help but think of his family back on his Reaper infested home world. He'd last heard from his Mum about 3 days ago. His sisters and niece were with her and they were all safe, for now. They had fled as far from populated areas as possible. His father was still MIA, but he wasn't going to give up hope. He had been a good marine.

"Bad." She whispered "Anderson looks exhausted, I don't know how much longer he can keep up this pace before he burns out or gets himself killed" She ran a shaky hand through her hair, messing up her usually pristine appearance.

Kaidan caught her wrist and held her trembling hand in front of her face.

"He's not the only one in danger of that." The look he gave her was full of appraisal and worry.

Shepard stared at her own hand, it was clear her body was intent on exposing just how worn down she was feeling.

"I know." She sighed, scanning the vid-com door to make sure they were out of ear shot of any crew members. "I'm so tired Kaidan. I know I need to slow down, but there is always some pressing matter to attend to." She grasped the back of her neck firmly and rolled her head.

"Shepard, you're serving with the finest crew in the Alliance, let them help you. Delegate."

"There's just so much to do, I wouldn't know where to start."

"Ok... don't get mad." He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.

She narrowed her eyes at him but couldn't help the smirk that crept across her face as his old nervous tell reappeared. _Some things never change_. "Alenko, what have you done?"

"You're taking the night off, and we're having a date night." His tone was gentle but with an edge of command.

"I can't do that Kaidan, there's too much to get done and not enough time to do it. There's too much at stake." He could see in her eyes that she desperately wanted to acquiesce, but her feelings of responsibility and duty were giving her pause. That was good, he could work with that. All he had to do was show her that he had all the bases covered. Put her mind at ease.

"Its all arranged Shepard. EDI has your current action items and is working them into priority order." She opened her mouth to protest again, but he held up his hand to silence her. "Traynor will work with EDI to help give her some perspective, as well as analysing any Intel. EDI has full access to crew performance reviews and is well aware of everyone's strengths. Once everything is organised, she will delegate tasks to appropriate crew members, and monitor their progress to keep them on point. Traynor is filtering your messages for you. If anything urgent comes up she'll pass it to me. If there are any command decisions that need to be made in the next..." He glanced at the time display on the console. "14 hours, she'll pass them to me too. So you Commander Shepard, officially have the night off."

"Kaidan, I ca..."

"Shepard." He lowered his voice into a deliciously husky whisper "I love you and I'm worried about you. You need a break. Ideally a few days at the least, but 14 hours will have to do for now." She opened her mouth to respond but he didn't give her a chance. "Please, do this for me. For your boyfriend's peace of mind."

The puppy eyes he levelled at her were probably enough to stop a reaper in its tracks. She really did have no choice in the matter. He had thought this through and she was touched not only by his concern, but by the effort he'd already put in, ensuring she could take some much needed time for herself.

"Alright Kaidan, you win." With a shrug of her shoulders she strolled past him, out of the war room. He jogged a few steps to catch up to her.

"Thanks." He leant lent closer to her. "I'm really glad I didn't have to resort to trying to pull rank and ending up getting an N7 style ass kicking." She met his sparkling caramel eyes and smiled at the sincere look of gratitude that played across his face.

They paused at the war room door scanner while it ran through a cycle, and made their way to the CIC in companionable silence. She could feel the familiar warm tingle of Kaidan's biotics, betraying his well concealed excitement. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, she studied his steely professional expression. Outwardly he was giving nothing away. She however, knew better.

Traynor and EDI were busying themselves at the console alongside the galaxy map. They glanced at Kaidan as he walked past and he nodded to them.

"Green light." They both nodded at his command and hastily went back to their task, avoiding Shepard's gaze.

They stepped into the elevator and Kaidan selected deck one. They stood side by side, 3 feet apart, hands behind their backs and both wore carefully schooled impassive expressions. The elevator doors slid shut and it smoothly began its slow assent to the captain's cabin.

They turned in unison and their eyes met, a slow sexy smile creeping across both their faces. He stepped forward and closed the tortuous gap between them, sighing as his hands wrapped around her, finally. She wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand sliding down the centre of his back, enjoying the twitch and flex of his muscles as his strong hands reverently caressed her hips and waist.

"So, date night eh? Does that mean what I think it means?" Her look was pure carnal desire. So much so, his breath momentarily caught in his throat.

"Hey, what kind of guy do you think I am? I'd never put out on the second date." He attempted a wounded look but failed miserably.

"Alenko, you put out on the _first_ date. In fact, if I remember correctly, technically you put out _before_ our first date." She smiled up at him and ran her fingers through his soft hair. "You should be ashamed of yourself Major, have you no morals?"

He slid his hands down her back and gave her arse a gently squeeze, pressing her against him fully. "I wasn't alone you know. If I recall there was an equally willing person, naked and thoroughly enjoying herself beneath me. And anyway, I seem to remember a certain commanding officer making the first move."

"Excuse me!?" Her eyes widen slightly "Who was it that came to my cabin all, _'you and I, we are what's important right now. Oh, Sheppard, you make me feel... human.'_ I'd say that was the first move Alenko, and it was _all_ yours." Her impression of Kaidan was frighteningly accurate. He chuckled and swatted her behind in mock admonishment, leaning in to capture her full lips in a soft kiss.

The elevator doors hissed open at deck one. Kaidan turned Shepard around and guided her to the cabin door with his hands firmly planted on her slender hips.

"You know what bugs me? If it hadn't been for the damn collectors we'd have been celebrating our 3rd Anniversary a couple of months ago." She sighed and her shoulders began to slump again. "This war has taken so much already." She hit the glowing release button and took a step into the room. "How much more do you think it will take before it's finished?"

Kaidan paused just outside the cabin, hooked two finger into the waistband of her trousers and forcefully tugged her back outside the door, making her stumble back into him.

"Hey!" Her back was flush with his chest and he grasped her waist to keep her there.

"Alright, executive order. For the next 14 hours, talk about the war or the Reapers is banned in that cabin." He pointed firmly with a long, strong finger. "Any breach of that order will be dealt with swiftly and firmly. Clear?"

"Crystal, Major."

"Good. This is our night, just you and me doing normal things couples do. No war, no battle strategies, no command decisions, ok?" He kissed the top of her head.

"Ok." He released her and she stepped into the cabin, a smile playing across her face.

On instinct she fired up her terminal and plopped in to the chair. Kaidan cleared his throat and sat down on her desk beside the terminal.

"What are you doing?" his tone was gentle, teasing.

"I was just going to have a quick scan of my messages." She replied sheepishly, hesitant to make eye contact.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. "Traynor is taking care of that tonight, remember?"

"I know, I just wanted to have a quick scan and then I'll log straight off. I'll only be a second"

He shrugged. "Ok, if you can log in go right ahead." He smirked at her, a real shit-eating grin.

Shepard narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment before returning her attention to the terminal before her. She tapped in her username and password then hit 'login'. The terminal beeped at her twice in protest, a large red exclamation mark within a triangle filled her screen. She tried again... and again. On the fourth attempt an error message flash up on the screen.

* * *

'**A TEMPORARY BLOCK IS IN PLACE ON THIS ACCOUNT.**

**AUTHORISATION: ALENKO, K. MAJOR, SYSTEMS ALLIANCE'**

* * *

Son of a bitch!

She glared at Kaidan, a face like thunder. He simply smiled back at her, hopped off her desk and made his way to her bed, sitting down to remove his boots and depositing them in front of her locker.

"Alenko?"

"Shepard."

"What did you do?" She commanded, now standing at the top of the steps down to the small living area, arms folded, weight on her right hip.

"Insurance policy." He stood and slid his hands into his pockets with a shrug.

"I'm going to take a shower." She barked and spun on her heels. Maybe a shower would calm her down. This was not a good start to their date.

She strode across the room to the door to her private bathroom which slid open as she approached. She came to an abrupt halt, her jaw hitting the floor.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** Thanks once again for all the reviews, follows and favourites. Felt mean leaving you all hanging at the start of the fluff so got this chapter up a lot quicker than intended. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

~*Chapter Three*~

Kaidan came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and kissed her neck, just below her ear. "Am I forgiven?" He whispered. The feel of his warm breath on her skin sent a shiver down her spine.

"You are _so_ forgiven." She smiled as she took in the transformed bathroom.

The soft warm glow from the sea of tiny candles spilled into the cabin. They were being projected by a small device Shepard had seen in Liara's room a few days prior. The looked so real! Their tiny holo-flames flickered and danced like they were alive.

In the centre of the flickering lights, sat underneath the shower head was a storage container. It had been scrubbed and polished to within an inch of its life. The ammo and weapons previously stored within it were gone and it was now filled with sweet smelling, steaming hot water and inviting bubbles. The air was filled with soft classical music, a piece she knew like the back of her hand, 'Whisper of a Thrill'. She had played it countless times when she was younger. It was music from a really old film she had never actually seen, she just loved the composition. Something about the piece just seemed to resonate with her. It was beautiful, powerful, affecting and slightly wistful. How had he known she loved this piece? She closed her eyes briefly and sank back into his warm strong embrace as she listened.

Kaidan slowly ran his hands down her upper arms and across to her chest, where he began undoing the clasps of her shirt. He slowly pulled the zipper down, letting his thumb graze her skin from the small indent at the base of her neck to the top of her belt

Shepard closed her eyes and focused on the sensation of his touch. She loved how he made her feel. She felt alive and sensual at his touch. Hell, sometimes she felt that just by the way he looked at her. The way his eyes would dart to her mouth, making him involuntarily lick his own lips, blinking rapidly, making his thick eyelashes flutter. He looked at her with eyes full of wonder, desire and respect. Like she was his only personal saviour, his salvation, his beginning and end.

Kaidan slowly eased the fabric of her shirt out of her trousers and, grasping the material on either side, gently slid it off her shoulders and down her arms. His fingers endeavoured to maintain the sweet teasing contact as they went. He dropped her shirt neatly on to her desk chair, before bending down to plant a long kiss on her back between her shoulder blades. She sighed deeply, her head involuntarily rolling back on her shoulders. He smiled and kissed her forehead, noticing that the frown that seemed to be in permanent residence of late, had diminished.

Shepard's hands drifted to the buckle of her belt as she attempted to unbuckle it but he swatted her hands away, making her laugh. God how he loved that sound, like her smile, this was something that came around less often since the war.

Kaidan moved to stand in front of her and sank slowly to his knees. He grasped her leg behind her sculpted calf and raised it off the floor, slowly easing off her knee high combat boot and setting it down beside him. He slipped his hand up the leg of her trousers, caressing the soft skin on her shin as he went. Grasping the elastic of her sock and slowly pealed that off too. His fingertips glanced her instep and he chuckled as her entire leg tried to jerk out of his grasp. She always did have incredibly ticklish feet and he loved that he was possibly the only person who knew her intimately enough to know that.

He repeated the action on the other leg, this time taking care to avoid tickling her. He wanted her to be relaxed not twitchy.

Her second sock discarded, he fixed his gaze on her beautiful bluer than blue eyes and stood slowly sliding his hands up the outside of her legs until they came to rest on her waistband. He traced his finger over the skin just above her belt before unclasping the buckle and undoing her fly. Slipping his hands under the waistband at the side, he slid them down her thighs, pushing her trousers down in a tortuously slow move. The feel of his battle hardened hands on her skin was as heady as always. Every time he touched her was as thrilling as that first time. She sighed and worried her lip, watching him through hooded eyes. When the course fabric lay pooled at her feet she gently stepped out of it, steadying herself by grasping his forearm.

He flinched as he took in the bruises down her left side. He lent forward and gingerly pressed his lips to the large angry mark on her hip bone. She smiled down at him, knowing that he disliked any evidence of her hurting, past or present. This was why he kissed her scars, he wanted to erase the memory of pain and replace it with love and affection. She was always so touched by the gesture.

Kaidan straightened again and with confident fingers, he reached around her back to unclasp her bra.

He fumbled and she bit back a smile as a look of frustration crept over her beautiful face. On the third attempt he managed to get it undone.

He scowled at her broad grin. "Don't say a word." She shook her head and adopted her best innocent look. A look that said '_What me? ...Never!_'.

He hooked his index fingers under the straps and peeled them down her arms, eyes fixed on hers.

Her bra discarded, he trailed his fingers down the side of her ribs to her underpants resting low on her hips and slide them down her long legs, never once breaking eye contact. Again, using his arms as support she stepped out of the remains of her clothes. Standing before him naked like this felt so... intimate. She was literally laid bare before him, nowhere to hide.

Finally he broke eye contact and his gentle, caramel eyes skirted down her body hungrily. She felt a thrill run through her at his appraisal, his breath hitched and he swallowed convulsively as he gazed at her. When his eyes returned to hers they had darkened slightly.

He blinked at her a moment before whispering. "Get in."

She quirked her eyebrow and opened her mouth to make some crude comment no doubt. Kaidan put his finger on her mouth to silence her. "Don't cheapen the moment baby, just get in the bath." And with that he gently urged her in to the bathroom.

The water was hot but it felt so good. She hesitantly dipped her feet into the water and let them get accustomed to the tingling warmth before sinking gracefully in to the makeshift bath.

She disappeared into the bubbles with a childlike grin, and came back up with a contented sigh, her cropped hair slicked back from her face and her cheeks pinked by the warm water.

Kaidan crouched down by her side, his arms rested on the edge of the container. "Nice?"

"It would be better if you were in here." She scooted right up to him and kissed his perfectly straight nose.

"Anything for you, m'lady." He stood lithely, and began quickly undoing his shirt clasps.

"Ok, point number one, '_m'lady_'? You've been playing 'Elven Star Scrolls 2' again haven't you?" He paused, his fingers lingering on his as yet undone zip, a sheepish look on his face.

Back on the SR1, when their relationship consisted of subtle glances and long chats, Kaidan and Shepard spent a lot of time on the extranet gaming together. She always knew when he'd been playing. He'd subconsciously let slip in an old English word or phrase as they spoke.

"Actually... The series is up to 4 now, but I haven't played online since you... since the last time we played together. It didn't feel the same." _Since she died_, he never did like saying the 'D' word when it came to Shepard.

"Can you get me a copy?" she wanted to deflect him away from the inevitable decline in his mood that always accompanied some reference or other to her death. He smiled enthusiastically at her.

"Sure. What was point number two?"

"Your undressing way too quickly." Her smile was roguish.

His eyes sparkled with playful intent in the glow of the artificial candle light. He carefully unzipped his shirt and mischievously pulled back one side, then the other, exposing his perfect chest and rippled stomach. Shepard's eyes widened and her pupils dilated so far her eyes were almost black. Fuelled by her reaction he flexed his pecks making them twitch and smirked as her mouth formed a perfect letter 'o' as she sucked in a gulp of air.

He slid his hands across the plane of his abdomen to the buckle of his trousers, unbuckling it with a flourish and a lopsided grin. He pulled down his zipper so slowly she could almost hear each tiny notch of the zip popping free one at a time. He slowly turned round so his back was to her before easing the fabric over his hips with a slight shimmy.

Shepard licked her lips, wanting to run her tongue from the small cluster of moles between his shoulder blades down the length of his back. Kaidan slipped his trousers over the perfect curve of his arse and down his toned olive skinned thighs, before stepping out of them and kicking them to the corner of the room. He hooked his thumbs under the elastic at the back of his briefs and slid them down, wiggling his hips again.

A glance over his shoulder told him Shepard's eyes were firmly fixed on his exposed backside, as usual. He clenched his butt cheeks and watched with glee as she blinked rapidly, biting her lip.

"Like what you see Shepard?" She returned his radiant smile and threw his earlier words back at him.

"Don't cheapen the moment baby, just get in the bath." He chuckled and turned to face her. He was... well, he was just simply magnificent! The sight of him, all of him, standing there before her with those rich soulful eyes and that exquisite body, was enough to make her want to fall on her knees and praise the universe for bringing such perfection in to being.

He deftly stepped over the edge of the container and sunk down in to the bubbles in front of her. The warm water lapping at his firm chest, his strong thighs resting on the outside of her legs, which he deftly lifted so her calves nestled against his hips.

"Thank you." Her voice was soft and loaded with gratitude.

"For the striptease? Anytime, baby."

She chuckled and pinched the underside of his knee. "For everything. You know I can't even remember the last time I had a bath? I miss baths. I love serving on frigates but man do I miss water." She leaned back and closed her eyes. "Baths, streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, you name it. It's the one thing I pine for when I'm not planetside. The foster family I was placed with back on Earth lived right on the ocean. I fell asleep and woke up to the sound of waves crashing against the shore, every day for two years. It's the one and only thing I miss about that time. I'd love to live by the sea, hell by any water."

Kaidan absent-mindedly ran his fingers back and forth across her knees. "You wanna know what I miss?" She nodded "I miss my mom's home made steak, ale and cheese pie. It's like... the _ultimate pie_. I could live on it! When you meet my mom, I'll ask her to teach you how to make it." His grin was cheeky and playful. She narrowed her eyes at him, biting her lip to try and hide her answering smile.

"And why would I need to know how to make that? You expect me to play the role of the little misses? Staying at home while my big strong man goes out to work?" She quirked her eyebrow at him and he chuckled.

"No, I just figured on birthdays and special occasions you might want to treat me."

"You know I can't cook right? But I can treat you in other ways."

"Ohh, tell me more." He leaned forward, running his hands up her thighs. It was hard to think straight when he did that. All her cleaver quips went right out the window.

"Ummmm, I can... buy you ammo mods. Help you clean your gun."

"Clean my gun eh?" He bit the tip of his tongue and winked at her.

"That's not what I meant." She looked down at her hands now resting on his legs. "So you want to take me home to meet the family huh?"

"Yeah, of course I do. They are dying to meet you, especially Larissa." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Who's Larissa?"

"Youngest sister. She's been driving me crazy about meeting you since I first mentioned you in a vid I sent back home, a few months after joining the SR1." He sighed deeply. "She gave me such a lecture about my behaviour after Horizon."

They both flinched at the word. Neither of them had handled that reunion very well at all. The memory was bitter sweet for them both. They had hashed it out afterwards over messages (Kaidan's clunky apology and Shepard's equally clunky response) and at his hospital bedside in Huerta Memorial, where they took the first tentative steps towards a reconciliation.

"I managed to get hold of her while I was laid up after Mars. When I told her that you had been in to see me a few times and we'd talked, she pretty much demanded I just shut the hell up and kiss you the next time I saw you. She was convinced that would fix everything. I tried to explain to her that we needed to talk things out but she wouldn't have it. I guess things seem a lot simpler when you're 22 huh?"

Shepard ran her fingers through the bubbles before her and smiled to herself.

"What?"Kaidan nudged her with his leg to get her attention.

"I was just thinking, sisters are all the same. Always so eager to interfere in a sibling's love life, even during a galactic war with trillions of lives hanging in the balance."

Kaidan dipped his hand in to the water between them and snapped it into a fist, sending a squirt of water straight into Shepard's face.

"Hey!" she spluttered wiping the water out of her eyes.

"Breach of executive order, mentioning the war, consider that your first warning." He jabbed his finger at her, steely faced but his eyes betrayed his amusement.

She slid herself forward, till she was practically in his lap and kissed him tenderly on the line of his jaw.

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again." Her whispered voice blew hot breath across the damp skin of his neck, and he swallowed.

"See that it doesn't. Now turn around."

After much splashing and sloshing within the confines of the container, Shepard managed to turn herself around and seated herself between Kaidan's muscular thighs. Her back rested snugly against his broad well defined chest. Kaidan reached forward and smoother a few loose tendrils of hair off of her brow and reached for her shampoo. He squeezed some in to the palm of one hand, set the bottle back down and rubbed both hands together. Ohh, he remembered this smell, fruity and sharp. She hated the standard issue crap, it made her hair feel greasy. She had always had a stash of her favourites to hand on the SR1. The smell was all her.

Inhaling deeply he began to work the shampoo through her hair, massaging her scalp, his fingers spread wide as he worked. He could feel her practically melting against him. She sighed deeply and rested her arms on is long legs, her thumbs drawing invisible circles across his skin. She felt the stresses that had been building over the past few months beginning to ease.

This was so intimate. Such a tiny gesture in the grand scheme of things, but loaded with unspoken love and devotion. Shepard was so used to looking out for herself. She had been doing so since she was 16 and had found herself alone in the galaxy, no friends or family to support her. She wondered if he knew how much it took for her to let someone take care of her to this extent. She never had before, and that had been what caused the end of most of her relationships, the significant ones anyway. It's hard to love someone who won't accept your love or even let you show it. Somehow it was different with Kaidan, she liked that he loved her and the subtle ways he showed it. As she lay back against him while he smoothly working her hair into lather, she tried to pin down why that was. What made it so different with him? It took a while to click into place; it was different because she loved him back. She had done since Ilos. She'd almost told him that in the vid she recorded for her Will before he interrupted her. She wanted to say it after Horizon, to use the words as a weapon to wound him. And again in Huerta Memorial when he rested his warm hands on hers to stop them nervously twisting and fidgeting with the bed sheets. She almost said it during their Sanity Check but that damn Salarian waiter seemed to appear every time she worked up the nerve.

Kaidan placed his sudsy hands on her slender shoulder startling her out of her reverie. He leaned in and whispered into her ear "Scoot forward a bit and lean your head back."

She did as instructed while Kaidan grabbed a tumbler from the counter with a little help from his biotics. He filled the tumbler and gently began rinsing the suds out of her rich brown hair, running his finger through it as he went.

Shepard closed her eyes and concentrated on the way his hands moved through her hair and the beautiful music that continued in the back ground. It was currently another of her favourite classical pieces, Nocturne No 1 in b flat minor. She hadn't listened to music in years, it had been an all too painful reminder for her of the future she had lost on Mindoir. She was amazed to find that now, as she lay in her make shift bath, the music was actually helping her relax and lifting her spirits. She never thought that it would ever have that effect on her again.

When her hair was rinsed, Kaidan leaned forward and tenderly kissed her head. "All done."

She was so relaxed by this point she practically purred.

"Now, let me get the rest of you all washed." Her eyes snapped open as his words penetrated her tranquil haze.

* * *

**AN:** gracie21, as you wished... Naked Kaidan Bum! :) you must be psychic!


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:** Sorry for the long wait, i've been a little distracted digital arting Kaidan's beautiful face. If you're on Tumblr have a look, same name mandyshepard. :0)

Thanks once again for all the amazing messages and reviews. And thanks to everyone who has read, favourited and followed my fluff.

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Chapter Four

_He's going to wash me?_

Heat started to pool in the pit of her stomach at the thought of his big strong hands all over her. She grasped her bottom lip between her teeth and attempted to steady her breathing, as he applied a liberal amount of shower gel on to a wash cloth. She felt hyper alert, every nerve ending seemed to blindly reach out for his touch, and suddenly it was there. The contact she had been craving.

He stared with her back, working the soapy cloth in steady caressing sweeps across her warm, sensitive skin. He continued down both her arms and up her ribs to her underarms. The motions slow and steady, before sliding the cloth over her flat stomach and up her chest. She held her breath as his hand slid up her torso but he simply skirted over her breasts and up to her neck. She couldn't help the disappointed huff that came out at the realisation that this was not going to end as she had hoped. Pressed up against his chest as she was, she felt the rumble of his laugh reverberate through her.

"I know what you're thinking Shepard but I have plans for tonight and if we do _that_, we won't end up getting to what I have in store." He kissed her neck where it met her shoulder.

"I won't mind." Her voice was full of desperation and again he laughed.

"I will. If you want it to go that way then you'll have to plan a date night for me, and I'll go with it."

There was a soft ping from his omni-tool. He glanced down at the two word message and smiled, before closing it down.

"What was that?" she twisted round to meet his gaze quizzically.

"Nothing for you to worry about." He tapped her nose and with that he roses from the water and stepped out of the tub.

Shepard's mouth hung open slightly at the sight of him wet and naked in her bathroom. Tiny droplets of water glistened on his skin, snaking their way down his defined muscles as he grabbed a towel, and wrapped it around his waist.

"I can feel you staring you know?" She quietly chuckled as he turned to face her, holding out a towel for her as she rose to her feet.

Wrapping the towel around her shoulders, he lifted her over the lip of the container and set her down on the floor in front of him. His muscular arms enveloped her in a warm comforting hug as he rubbed her back through the fluffy towel. She felt so relaxed, contented and cosy. This was heaven on earth. Right here, right now, with this man.

Shepard pulled the towel tightly around her as Kaidan turned to grab another. He shook it loose, draped it over her head and proceeded to dry her hair for her. She couldn't help the smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth. If anyone who was on Rannock with them could see them now, they would hardly recognise them. They were so different from the comrades in arms they had been a few short hours ago. The pair of them on the battlefield had been caked in dirt, blood and sweat. Dispatching their enemies with vim and vigour, ferocious and terrifying in their assault. They showed no mercy, gave no quarter, and cut an intimidating image. Now they looked like the leads stars in a scene from a sappy movie... Well Kaidan looked like a star anyway. He was all tall, tanned and muscular. He had those soulful smouldering eyes of his, full sensual lips with the subtle hint of a cleft in his chin. The small, thin scars that marred his lips gave an edge to his movie star good looks.

Now that he was the second human Spectre, she guessed that they would make the most of his looks and start plastering him all over recruitment ads, as they had with her after the Blitz and the Battle of the Citadel. They'd hold him up as the human ideal, and he was certainly that.

Sliding the towel off of her head he bit his lip to stifle a laugh. His energetic drying had resulted in Shepard's cropped hair standing on end in places. It looked like she had received an electric shock. Following his amused gaze she reached up to feel her hair and lost her hand in the mound of tangles.

"Sorry." He was barely able to contain the snigger that was hiding just behind his lips. He flared blue for a brief second and deftly caught her brush as it glided within reach."Turn around and I'll brush it out."

Shepard narrowed her eyes at him, but complied with his request.

"I like your hair like this by the way." He pronounced as he went to work untangling the mess.

"Very funny Alenko." She sighed.

He stopped brushing to lean forward and kiss her exposed damp shoulder. "I meant I like it short like this. I was surprised when I saw you with it short, you always used to say you liked keeping it long. That people didn't recognise you as much when you had it down. What made you change your mind?"

It was an innocent question, yet he saw her body tense slightly.

"I didn't."

"What do you mean?"

She let out a long sigh. "Do you really want to talk about this? I don't want to sour your mood." She glanced over her should at him. The penny dropped.

"Oh... it's a Lazarus thing, isn't it? You didn't cut your hair, you had to regrow it."

Shepard nodded slowly. "I'm trying to grow it long again but it never did grow fast."

"You don't like it like this?" He went back to brushing it out.

"I do the length it is now. Back when you first saw me? Not so much. God, it was so short. I hated it! They said it was still so short cause they had to wake me up so early when the base was attacked. That's why I still had those horrible scars on my face too. Miranda said I should have been under for at least another month, maybe two. I wish you hadn't seen me like that. I wasn't sleeping at all so I had bags under my eyes. Cause I was so tired those fucking scars were practically neon. My hair was so short I looked like a man... you must have thought I looked like hammered shit." She shook her head and let it fall forward with a huff of frustrated breath.

Kaidan wrapped his arms around her shoulders and burrowed his nose into the crook of her neck. "Almost every night for two years I watched you die in my dreams, burning in the atmosphere of some planet. Then I saw you. You were alive, perfect. I saw those piercing blue eyes that I never thought I'd see again." He reached up and ran his thumb over her lower lip. "This exquisite mouth that I love kissing, and the wildly inappropriate, funny and sometimes terrifying things come out of it." His thumb continued on a path to her cheek. "This gorgeous face that I used to lay awake gazing at. I memorised every line and curve." He turned her around to face him and kissed the bridge of her nose. "Every freckle on your cute little nose. You were then, and still _are_, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life." And with that he kissed her slowly and deeply.

* * *

Now that her hair was back to a state of order he grabbed the small pile of clothes that were folded neatly beside the sink, and instructed her to get dressed. He pulled on a pair of old, soft sweats. They hung off his hips in a way that should be illegal. Not only were they were slung low enough that she could see the top of the 'V' shape indent just under his hips that she loved to kiss, but they also seemed to cling to his crotch revealing just enough to keep her interest piqued.

Shepard shook her head in an effort to clear it of the increasingly lustful thoughts that had taken up residence. They were making it hard for her to think of anything but wanting Kaidan. She slipped in to the sweats he'd handed her and pulled on her Alliance issue tank top. As she slid the soft white fabric over her breasts, she glanced up and caught Kaidan staring mid way through tying the pull cord of his sweats.

Placing her hands on her hips, with an eyebrow raised, she smiled at him. "See something you like Major?"

His answering smile was roguish as his eyes slowly worked their way down her body and back up again.

"Oh I see a lot that I like, baby." The muscles of her lower abdomen clenched and her tongue darted out to wet her suddenly dry lips. "But more on that later. Come on, I'm starving." Talking her hand he led her from the bathroom.

As soon as the bathroom door slid open she was greeted by an unbelievably mouth-watering smell. She turned to Kaidan, quizzically. He simply smiled and taking her hand, he led her down the three shallow steps to the living area of the cabin. As she reached the middle step a glimmer to the right caught her eye. The large modular coffee table had been covered in clean crisp linen and laid out for two. He had made do with what was on board, clear plastic tumblers instead of wine glasses, scrubbed machine parts as make shift cloches and a small bucket liberated from the lounge on the crew deck, filled to the brim with ice. Nestled inside, were two chilled beers from Jokers secret stash. In the centre of the table stood another holo-vid projector, this time projecting a large single red rose surrounded by a smattering baby's breath. A large grin spread across her face as Kaidan walked around behind her, letting his hand trail across the small of her back, on his way to the sound system on her bedside table.

Nobody had ever done anything like this for her before, made her feel special, spoilt her. She looked from the beautifully laid table to Kaidan, currently tinkering with her sound system and his omni-tool. She felt a wave of love and appreciation so immense, it felt as if her heart was suddenly too big for her ribcage. Never had she felt anything this intense for someone. A need that burned deep down and blazed like a supernova right through her heart and soul. She felt an irresistible pull to be forever by this mans side, to share a life and a future with him. But how much of a future could they have with their lives balanced on a knife edge, standing at the precipice, looking out at the end of all life.

It seemed unbearably cruel to find the person who completed her just as the galaxy began to discover the fate that faced it. They had already lost three years, two while she lay broken in a Cerberus facility. Another while she took on the collectors and languished under house arrest, charged with the destruction of the Alpha relay, and the resulting death of 300,000 Batarians in the Bahak system. Fate did seem to conspire against them, Fraternisation regs, death, Earth First terrorist organisations, homicidal robotic AI's and of course the ever present Reaper hoard.

She was a realist, she knew that in all likelihood one or both of them was going to die before this was over and she couldn't abide that thought. Shepard never did cope well when things were out of her control, even as a child. Her father used to tell her, 'Titch, there are some thing in life you just can't control no matter how hard you try. But what you can control is how you react to them. Don't waste all you time worrying about what might be, life is what happens while you're making other plans, so take a breath and enjoy the chaos once in a while'.

Shepard looked back at the table laid out before her, closed her eyes briefly and drew in a deep steadying breath. _Enjoy these moment while you can Shepard,_ she reminded herself as she took a seat in her spot on the sofa.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:** Bit of a long chapter this time, but its a kinda silly lighthearted one too.

If you're a Shakarian person I'm sorry in advance. I LOVE Garrus, he's my space bro and I admit I have romanced him in the past but for this story... I just couldn't help myself.

Thanks again for the favourites, follows, reviews and PMs I LOVE hearing what you think so don't be shy. :)

Hope you enjoy!

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Chapter Five

She smiled as she settled into _her_ spot on the sofa. They had been reunited for a little over a month now and they had already fallen into patterns and habits as all couples do. They each had a side of the bed. Their pre-bed routines had become like a well rehearsed dance. They gracefully worked around each other in the relatively small space of the cabin. When they had reports to do Kaidan used the desk by the bed, Shepard used the one by the bathroom. Kaidan's spot on the sofa was in front of the model ship display case where he could gaze out of the observation window above the bed, Shepard's was facing the armour locker where she could see her ships and the fish tank. Heaven forbid she should sit in his spot. She had made that mistake a few times and was unceremoniously shooed to her side. She'd had no idea Kaidan was so territorial about such things before. He was usually so polite and giving... not where his spot was concerned it seemed. She had to admit, on a few occasions she had sat there on purpose knowing he was on his way up just to bait him. It was so entertaining, watching him try to think of a way to move her covertly. After the first few times he gave up on being covert and either virtually sat on her and shuffled her along with his hips or picker her up and deposited her in her own seat with a surly huff.

Kaidan turned from the sound system and strolled across to the table as a gentle familiar melody began in the background. She knew this song too, another of her favourites when she was younger. The Olive Branch by singer/song writer Marina Snow. This had been a big hit when she was 14, it had become one of her all time favourite songs.

"I haven't heard this song in years. How do you know all my old favourites?"

He dropped gracefully into the seat across from her, remaining close enough that their knees touched, and rested his arm on the back of the sofa. A hint of sadness flickering across his rich hazel eyes. "The OSD you left me in your Will. I transferred all your files to my omni-tool, so I could keep them with me."

"Oh Right. Sorry." Her face fell and her eyes dropped to her hands, now fidgeting restlessly in her lap. He snatched up her hand and brought it to his lips, pressing a tender kiss on her knuckles.

"Come on, lets eat before it gets cold."

Kaidan grabbed the makeshift cloches and removed them with a grand gesture, revealing the source of the mouth-watering smell.

"Steak?!" he nodded, clearly very pleased with himself.

Shepard stared at the meal before her. Steak, home made chunky chips, peas and what looked impossibly like béarnaise sauce.

"Picked it up last time we were on the Citadel, thought it would make a nice change one night."

She dipped her pinkie into the sauce and delicately placed it in her mouth. She closed her eyes as she tasted the rich creamy sauce that left a peppery kick on her tongue.

"This is amazing, how did you do this?" she asked picking up her knife and fork eagerly.

"I can't take the credit, this is all James. That kid has some flair in the kitchen." He reached over to grab the beers and the tumblers.

She dipped a chip in to the sauce. "Hmmm, maybe I'm with the wrong man?" she quipped with a wink.

"Hey! I can cook too ya know. I seem to recall you thoroughly enjoying the pancakes I made for you on shore leave." He passed her one of the beers, which she took and sipped slowly. My god that his the right spot.

"This is very true, and the fact that you cooked them naked made them all the more delicious."

"I wasn't naked. I was wearing briefs, Shepard."

"Not in my head you weren't." She cocked her eyebrows at him and he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Pervert!"

This was what tonight was all about, helping her unwind and have as much of a normal night as possible. He'd be lying if he said his motives were entirely selfless. He wanted to spend time with her too. Time like this, playful and relaxed. He wanted them to be a regular couple for one night. He wanted to forge some new memories of them together like this, something to hang on to in case... He couldn't let himself finish that thought.

"Hey, what's with the little black rain cloud all of a sudden?" He hadn't realised he was frowning and nursing his beer. He set it down on the table.

"I was just wishing we could have more time together like this. But I guess when the war is over we'll..."

Something small and wet struck him in the centre of his forehead breaking his chain of thought. He glanced down just in time to see a small green pea roll off his lap and under the table. He turned to look at Shepard who was pressing her lips together to try and hold in the laughter threatening to escape.

"What was that for?" He rubbed his head with a look of confusion on his face.

"Mentioning the war and breaking your _own_ executive order. Consider that _your_ first warning."

He lent across and rubbed the tip of his nose against hers. "Touché Commander!"

He leaned in to kiss her but she moved back just enough to put an obscenely large piece of steak into her mouth. Kaidan cocked his head, eyes narrowed, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth and returned his attention to his meal.

"So, tell me about your sister, Larissa wasn't it? What's she like?" She mumbled, her mouth full to the brim.

"She's a pain in the arse, very opinionated and not afraid to share it. She's one of those people who can drive you insane one minute then be incredibly thoughtful the next. She's a little naive but then she is still only young. She graduated from UBC last year, top of her class, now she works for Ariake Tech as a Junior Applications Specialist. She's currently working on some refinements for the Logic Arrest X.4i, it's the most advanced omni-tool on the market." There was a definite note of pride in his voice as he spoke of his youngest sisters work.

"So Techno geekery run's in the Alenko family eh?" She smiled warmly at him.

"Just Dad, Larissa and me. Juliana, my other sister, she's a teacher, 3rd grade kids. Mom is a Doctor, she has her own practice. Neither of them can even program their own omni-tools."

"How old is Juliana?"

"29. She's married to a guy called Jake, he's a teacher too. They have a little girl called Loren, she's two and the sweetest little thing. She just started properly talking. Ya know little broken sentences. It's so cute! She can't say my name yet, calls me Kayun."

The big goofy grin on Kaidan's face was heart-warming and Shepard found herself thinking of how good a dad he'd make. He was so calm and sensitive, full of love, fiercely loyal and supportive. Visions of little girls with long wavy brown hair, olive skin and her bright blue eyes began to invade her mind. She wasn't usually one to think of things like this. She always considered herself to be married to the Alliance. 100% Marine to the core. Starting a family was always a thing that was pigeon holed in the maybe someday section, but she always struggled to actually visualise herself with a family. Maybe it was because she lost hers so young. There was something about Kaidan though, she could practically see their potential future reflected in those beautiful eyes.

"Do you ever think about having kids?" The question tumbled out before she knew it and she instantly wished she could swallow it back. Way too serious a question, asked way too early. _Nice one Shepard_ she admonished herself, _way to make a guy run for the hills._

But he didn't run, he met her gaze with such intensity she almost felt herself melting under the blaze of his stare. "I never used to, till you. I can definitely see us having some little Shenko kids running around in the future."

"Little_ 'what' _kids?" Shepard questioned, confused.

Kaidan flushed a little "Shenko. You know, as in Shepard/Alenko. She-nko."

She shook her head, closing her eyes "Oh god."

He coughed, thoroughly embarrassed "What about you?"

She popped the last chip into her mouth and smiled at the slight look of trepidation taking form on his face. He was not only embarrassed by the 'Shenko' comment, he was also worried he'd revealed too much. She decided to let him off the hook.

"Same here, I was just thinking you'd make one hell of a good dad." His grin was radiant. He lent forward to kiss her but was stopped by a beep and a gentle pulse of his omni-tool. He tapped a button and read the short message. He quickly tapped out a response and rose to his feet.

"Is something wrong? Do they need me?" Her voice was anxious.

Kaidan turned and planted a chaste kiss on her forehead before collecting their plates. "Everything is fine, apparently we have desert on the way up."

He heading for the door and stepped just outside, Shepard could hear murmured voices, it sounded like Traynor but she couldn't be sure. A few moments later Kaidan returned with two small bowls and sat back down on the sofa, depositing them on the table.

"Everything ok?" She asked studying his face, looking for any signs he was worried. He placed his hand reassuringly on her knee.

"Yes, stop worrying. Here." He passed her one of the bowls.

"You've got to be kidding me! Ice cream? Where did you get ice cream?" The words were barley out of her mouth when she took her first spoonful. It was soft, creamy and delicious. Strawberry, her favourite.

"Apparently Cortez has a secret stash he keeps wedged between the coolant tanks down in the Shuttle Bay."

It was such a nice feeling to know that not only was Kaidan looking out for her, her crew were too. Putting themselves out and offering what little they could to help make her night off perfect. It was truly humbling.

Things had been so intense since she literally jumped back on board the SR2. She felt like she hadn't dedicated as much time to her crew as she would have usually. She knew they understood, these were extraordinary times. Things were moving so fast, there was very little forward planning. They just seemed to be reacting half the time, fire fighting so to speak. They just needed to catch a break.

She set her bowl down on the table and swung her legs up so they rested on the sofa besides Kaidan.

"Thank you for dinner. It was delicious. I am well and truly stuffed!"

She stretched out languorously, listening to the music she loved but hadn't listened to in years, watching Kaidan while he finished up his desert and placed the empty bowl next to hers. He relaxed back into his seat and lifted her leg so her feet rested across his lap.

"That was better than those steak sandwiches at Apollo's, and they were pretty damn good." He mused running his hand along her calf.

"I can't even remember the last time I had a meal that good. You're a pretty good date Alenko." She slouched further down on the sofa so she was almost lying down, propped up on the surprisingly soft, supple leather.

"Damn right! I'm one hell of a catch ya know and don't you forget it, missy."

She chuckled at his earnest expression. He ran his hands down to her feet and she involuntarily tried to pull them back away from his hands.

"Trust me." He carefully took hold of one foot and began firmly massaging her instep. Usually she hated anyone going anywhere near her feet but, my god this felt unbelievably good. Her eyes drifted closed and a small groan escaped her lips.

"See. Pretty good right?" he urged, she hummed her assent. "So it's standard protocol on a date to ask each other questions to get to know each other a little better, you game?" He pressed firmly on a tight muscle and she groaned again.

"Hmmm. Sure, you wanna go first?" she purred.

"Ok." He pondered for a moment, searching for a non war related question, something light and off the wall. Something she wouldn't expect. "If you had to date someone outside your species, which race would you choose?" He looked up to see her quirking her eyebrow incredulously.

"What?" She whispered.

"I said, if you had to date someone..."

"Yeah, I heard what you said Kaidan." She interrupted "Ok, 1. Where did that come from? and 2. Why would I have to go outside my species?"

"It was the first random question that came to my mind." He replied with a shrug of his broad shoulders. "And let's just say you were stranded on a planet, with no hope of recovery. There's one member of each race there with you, and you got kinda lonely."

She stared at him for a second before shaking her head in defeat. "You are a constant surprise Kaidan. Nobody else keeps me on my toes like you do."

"That's not an answer" he practically sang as he focused on working his knuckles over her instep.

"Drell I guess" She sighed.

"Not Turian?"

"Eaw, no! Much as I love Garrus; he's one of the best friends I've ever had, but have you ever seen a Turian naked?" she grimaced, arching her shoulders.

"No. Have you?"

"Well, there was this one time last year, not long after Garrus came on board. You know how the showers are the opposite way round on the SR2? Well I guess he wasn't paying attention, I was on the crew deck having a drink with Chakwas and I needed to pee. So I popped in to the ladies shower room, just as Garrus was getting out of the shower." She scrunched up her nose at the memory "He's kinda scaly all over if you catch my drift."

Kaidan turned back to face her, his expression was priceless.

"It looked like there were little barbs all down it, you know kinda like..." She trailed off and tried to demonstrate by hooking two fingers in the air like mini claws. He closed his eyes and held up his hands.

"I don't wanna know, Shepard!" he shuddered much to her amusement.

"What about you?"

He glanced down at his lap. "Nope, _definitely_ no barbs there."

"If you had to date someone..." she didn't even get to finish the question before he barked his answer.

"Asari!"

"You didn't have to think about that for very long."

"Why would I?" He asked bemused. She chuckled and playfully kicked him with her free foot, earning her a chuckle in response. "Your turn."

"What's you favourite movie?"

"For Pride and Honour."

"That 4 hour snore fest about the first contact war?" She groaned. Long winded, pretentious, self-aggrandising, twaddle. She'd been taken to see it by a date years ago and never quite forgave them for it. Two and a half hours in she had slipped out to go to the toilet and spent a good 15 minutes browsing the concession counter, before grudgingly returning for the rest of the torture.

"Its actually pretty powerful stuff, Shepard. Moving too." He could defend all he liked, she hated that film and her expression made the fact abundantly clear.

"Ok, what's yours then." He countered.

"Easy, Blasto 3: Where Spectres Fear to Tread."

"What?" This shocked him, "Blasto?... Blasto! Seriously!" She shrugged at his incredulous outburst and the totally mystified expression on his face.

"They're funny films. _'This one has forgotten whether its heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate.'_ How can you _not _like those films? Granted after 3 they started to get a little predictable but the first ones are classics. You simply can't fault the writing, and an Asari Commando was responsible for the fight choreography; which is flawless by the way. Oh and I _really_ want to see Blasto 6." She stated, looking at Kaidan hopefully.

Kaidan stared at her completely taken aback, his mouth hanging slightly open, brows raised.

"No way am I going to see that film. God, it's like I don't even know you! I always thought you had such sound judgement and impeccable taste. I mean just look at who you're dating."

She felt mildly insulted that he slammed her so hard for her choice in films, when his was clearly the worst movie ever made.

"Yeah, just look at who I'm dating." She bit back. "A man who enjoys epically boring films... come to think of it, that _boring_ film kinda suits you right down to the ground, doesn't it?" She smirked.

"Wait a second, you think I'm boring?" he actually looked a little hurt. She sat up and leant forward running her hand down his cheek.

"No, Kaidan. Not at all." A mischievous little glimmer flashed in her blue eyes, she laid back casually folding her hands behind her head. "Now, tell me again how you defragmented the basic input /output systems of your Logic Arrest, while calibrating the object oriented programming matrix. Thus creating a new cascading access protocol in the sensor analysis pack microframe, increasing the quadrilateral amplification burst modulation."

He huffed and scowled at her, "You know that made absolutely no sense at all, right?"

"See, that's what I always say when you say that kinda stuff." She rolled her eyes at him and sniggered. He grabbed her foot firmly and tickled her instep earning him a yelp of surprise and a fairly hard kick to the hip bone.

"Arrrhhh, ok truce!" he conceded.

"Deal." She responded breathlessly. "Your turn."

"Hmmmmm... ok. Liara, Allers, Traynor. Kiss one, screw one, marry one." He asked with a suggestive wink.

"I am _not_ answering that!" she crossed her arms over her chest and he knew if she was standing, she'd be resting her weight on her right hip, a stubborn stance he knew all too well.

"Why not?" he responded playfully, caressing the taut muscles of her calf.

"Do you really want me to think in depth about being with another woman; I mean what if I get a taste for it and decide to switch teams?"

He ran his hand up the outside of her thigh to her hip and leaned forward slightly. "I'm sure I could find a way to bring you back. Soooo?"

"So, I'll answer if you promise you'll answer mine. Just a little heads up, I'm thinking your choices will be Udina, Garrus and Wrex."

"What's you favourite colour?" he asked without a seconds hesitation.

"Ha, wise choice Alenko. Red, you?" a victorious smile spread across her face.

"Blue, like your amazing eyes."

"Nice recovery."

"Thanks. Your turn."

"If it was a matter of survival what would you rather eat, a Pyjak's eyeball or a Krogan's testicle?" His hands stopped caressing and his face contorted in disgust.

"Eaw!" She couldn't help but smile at the look on his face. "Pyjak's eyeball I guess. I imagine Krogan testicles are pretty big and I don't relish the idea of eating the contents." He stuck out his tongue, looking like he'd just tasted something extremely bitter. "You?"

"Same. Your turn." She nodded.

"Sunrise or sunset?"

She smiled contentedly and her eyes slowly drifted closed. In that instant he knew exactly what she was thinking about. Shore leave, the third day to be exact. The morning they had made love as the sun came up.

"Definitely sunrise." She replied, look up at him through her long lashes with a lopsided grin.

"Yeah" he purred "Me too."

Kaidan's omni-tool buzzed gently on his arm. Shepard was so lost in his eyes that she didn't seem to notice. He lifted her legs up gently and rose from the sofa, carefully depositing them back down in his seat.

"Where you going?" She asked her face falling slightly, feeling his absence already.

Bracing himself on the back of the couch he bent down and kissed her all too briefly. "Bathroom. I'll be right back."

He hopped up the three steps and made for the bathroom to check his Omni-tool, praying to the powers that be that it wasn't an emergency.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:** Well, here we go... last chapter of Everything. As ever thanks for the support and kind words, you guys are all awesome and i love you all! Once again this one so goes out to CyanB. Who wanted fluff (Check) or smutty fluff (CHECK!). Hope you have all enjoyed it.

Next story is already up to chapter two but I'm not sure how long it will take yet as work is pretty intense right now and wiping me out - curse you real life. There will be smut, there will be fluff and there will be angst... this time there are three lovely ladies on Tumblr to blame.

Anyways, enjoy and thanks again.

* * *

Chapter Six

As soon as the bathroom door closed Kaidan turned on the tap to mask his voice. "Go ahead EDI."

"Apologies for the interruption Major, but we require command staff authorisation for a course amendment. Joker has detected significant Reaper activity in the Crescent Nebular. The recommended adjustment will lengthen our journey time by three standard hours."

"How's our fuel level?" he all but whispered.

"We have sufficient fuel for the new course amendment."

"Tell Joker to go ahead and make the adjustments. Monitor the situation in the Crescent Nebular, let me know if there is any change and ensure that you send a report back to the Alliance re its status."

"Of course Major."

"Thank you EDI. That'll be all."

"Logging you out."

Kaidan turned off the tap and strolled back into the cabin glancing anxiously at Shepard on the couch. It seemed she didn't suspect anything; in fact she seemed to be very preoccupied trying to massage her own shoulder, her head inclined to one side and a slight wince marring her features. He knew Rannoch had taken its toll on her when he saw the fresh bruises as he undressed her. He wouldn't be surprised if she had pulled a muscle, probably when she was rolling and diving to avoid that reaper beam. It was damn near point blank range. He mentally shook himself; he didn't want that image in his mind again. Not tonight. He walked across the room and stood in front of her, his hand outstretched.

Shepard looked up at him quizzically but took his hand and let him help her to her feet. He led her to the bed and let go of her hand to route through the draw on her side.

"Shirt off." He ordered, his head still down as he rummaged.

Shepard rested her hands on her hips and smirked. "And they say romance is dead."

"Woman, you have a one track mind!" he sniggered giving up on the top draw and searching the bottom.

"Don't act all innocent with me Major. Sitting there all shirtless, with those old sweats I love on you, flexing your pecks every now and then. I'm on to your game." She licked her lips as her gaze drifted down the taut muscles of his back, to his phenomenal and quite frankly biteable backside.

With a little grunt of triumph, he grabbed the small bottle of hand lotion he'd watched her apply every evening and turned to face her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about, baby." He replied sticking his bottom lip out slightly, trying to look innocent as he flexed his pecks. Shepard narrowed her eyes at him and smiled.

He placed the lotion on the bedside table and sauntered back to her, stopping just inches away. Placing his hands on her hips he pulled her flush with him. A jolt of excitement ran through her at the feel of his toned body pressed up against hers.

He ran his hands slowly up from her hips to her ribcage, pushing the fabric of her top up as he went. Her breath hitched slightly as his thumbs grazed the side of her breasts, but they didn't linger. When he reached the crook of her arms, he tapped his fingers on the inside of her biceps, urging her to lift her arms, which she did without argument. He eased the fabric over the swell of her breasts, exposing them to the cool air of the cabin. He slipped her tank top up her arms and over her head. Once off, he took pains to carefully fold the garment and set it down on the chair by her side of the bed. Shepard stood impatiently before him, her hands clenching by her side, her toes tapping a frantic tattoo in time with her heart.

Finally her turned and came to stand in front of her. "Lay down on the bed."

She sat down on the edge of the bed and started to lean back in what she hoped was a seductive manner. The thrill of the situation was sending a jolt of arousal through her body. She could barely contain the tremor of excitement.

"On your stomach. Chin at the edge of the mattress." Shepard quirked her eyebrow at his instructions, and Kaidan simply quirked his eyebrow back, mimicking her. Their eyes remained locked for a moment until Shepard complied and crawled across the bed to lie down as instructed. All the while under Kaidan's watchful and appreciative eye. She gripped the sheets beneath her hand tightly, not knowing what to expect from him was kind of exciting. She tried to calm her breathing but failed miserably as soon as she felt the mattress dip on either side of her. She knew Kaidan had crawled up the bed and was now straddling her. She could feel his knees pressed either side of her hips as he lent forward and kissed her briefly between her shoulder blades. He straightened so he was seated on her thighs, and squirted a dollop of hand cream in to his palm, rubbing them together.

"This might be a little cold for a second." And suddenly his large, creamed hands were firmly on the small of her back, his thumbs manipulating her tense muscles. She couldn't stop the small mew of pleasure that escaped her as he ran his hands across her skin, skilfully unknotting her muscles.

He chuckled to himself as he ran his hands up her sides, his thumbs pressed either side of her spine.

"You like?" he asked, as his hands reached her shoulders and began kneading.

"Oh god, yes. That feels ...amazing." the last word came out as a whispered sigh as he ran his hands steadily back down her back and swept them around the side of her waist.

"I believe it's your turn to ask a question." He stated, feeling her tense muscles gradually unwinding under his fingers.

She was silent for a long time, trying to think of the best way to word her question. Kaidan was just about to prompt her, when she finally spoke.

"Where do you see yourself Kaidan ...I mean, after the war is..." She let out a yelp of surprise as Kaidan pinched her backside.

"Breach of executive order, second warning. There won't be a third." Kaidan tried to keep his voice flat and professional but Shepard's rather uncharacteristically girlish reaction tickled him.

"Sorry Sir. Where do you see yourself after... we urmm, finish what we're doing now?"

"You mean after this massage? I'm not gonna lie to your baby, I've got a pretty good idea of where I see myself after this." His hands worked in small circles across the small of her back.

She tried to turn around to chide him but before she got half way he pushed her back down onto the mattress, and lent forward, his chest pressed up against her back. She could feel the heat radiating off of his body. He rubbed the tip of his nose along the shell of her ear, his breath making her skin tingle pleasantly.

"If we're talking about the future..." He kissed her ear "I see it right here..." his soft lips grazed the skin of her neck , she grasped her lower lip between her teeth. "with you. Where ever you are, how ever I can get you."

She smiled and turned her head to meet is lips in a soft kiss. "Same here."

Kaidan sat back up and went back to work on her tight shoulders, his warm calloused hands finding every tense muscle and firmly kneading them into submission.

Shepard felt so relaxed with him. Her eyes were half closed, her breathing became deep and steady. She was so at ease that she didn't even notice that she had begun to hum the song currently playing.

Kaidan held his breath. He knew she had sung as a teen. Thanks to the personal files she'd left him in her Will, he'd seen vids of her performing on Mindoir. She had a beautiful voice, and since he first saw those vids he had longed to hear her sing in person. For two years he believed she was dead and that he'd never get the chance.

He'd found out since that she hadn't sung at all since Mindoir, _'You need a happy heart to sing Kaidan'_ she'd confessed one night as they sat cuddled on the sofa in starboard observation, gazing out at the endless stars _'and mine hasn't been happy enough for that in 16 years. I sometimes think it won't ever be that happy again.'_

He was suddenly filled with desperate need for her to sing. If she sang he'd know he'd helped her. He'd know he'd given her a brief night of normalcy in desperate and unsettling time. If she sang it would mean he'd made her heart happy. It would mean she loved him, even if she was yet to find the nerve to say it. _Please sing baby, sing._ He thought to himself over and over.

"You are the strength, that keeps me walking

You are the hope, that keeps me trusting

You are the life, to my soul

You are my purpose

You're everything"

Kaidan stilled immediately. The words came out in a faint whisper at first; he had to strain to hear her voice. By the final line he could hear her clearly. She was singing softly, but she was singing!

"Hey. Why'd you stop?" She wriggled beneath him to encourage him to continue with the massage.

"You Sang, I've always wanted to hear you sing." He smiled broadly knowing what that meant, feeling his heart flood with warmth and love for this woman.

"I'll make a deal with you, you keep massaging and I'll keep singing, ok?" She smiled.

"Oh baby, you got yourself a deal." He immediately went back to running his hands across her back, following the contours of her body.

"You calm the storms, and you give me rest

You hold me in your hands

You won't let me fall

You steal my heart, and you take my breath away

Would you take me in, take me deeper now

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

And how can I stand here with you and not be moved by you

Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?"

She sang with confidence, her voice loaded with sincere emotion. She had always loved this song, a cover of an old Earth song by her favourite Asari singer, Illiya Liriam.

Singing it now, the words seemed to really make sense for the first time. It was exactly how she felt about Kaidan, he made her happier than she ever thought she could be, considering all the terrible things she had lived through and seen. He gave her something to fight for, to hold on to. For the first time in 16 years she had a home, and that home was Kaidan, the realisation of that made her heart soar.

"Cause you're all I want, you're all I need

You're everything, everything"

Her ethereal voice sang out loud and clear. It seemed to fill the small cabin.

Kaidan felt sucker punched, her voice seemed to suck up all the air, he couldn't think straight anymore. He rose up onto his knees, and gently but forcefully rolled her over onto her back, grasped her face and kissed her fervently before she could react. He poured all of his heart and soul into that kiss, wanting her to feel the enduring intensity and depth of his love for her.

She wrapped her arms around his solid torso, feeling the muscles at play across his back and let herself get lost in his loving embrace, feeling safe, centred, loved.

One warm hand trailed down her throat delicately, skimming over her skin making her skin tingle and burn with desire. His hand paused briefly, resting on her collarbone, tracing its outline reverently before continuing on its path. His fingers danced and skirted across the sensitive skin between her breasts. She swallowed convulsively.

_You're all I want..._

His hand trailed down her taut stomach muscles to the waistband of her sweats, and followed the line of fabric to her side. When his fingers reached the indent just before her hip bone, he slipped them under the fabric and pulled gently. Supporting himself on one elbow, he began easing the elastic further down her skin. She lifted her hips to help him ease her out of the garment. With a sharp kick of her leg the sweats were sent them flying across the room.

Kaidan's intrepid hand came to rest on the outside of her knee, hooking underneath and urging her to bring her leg up. He pressed his hips to hers and she whimpered as she felt the extent of his need for her. He rolled his hips gently, teasingly. She was finding it hard to think, all she wanted was to make love with the man she loved. The feel of his thick arousal lightly rubbing against her through the soft fabric of his sweats was driving her insane. She wanted more pressure so she tried to grind her own hips against his. Knowing what she needed, Kaidan resolutely ran his hand up her inner thigh.

Shepard couldn't help the mew that escaped her as his fingers found their destination. She hooked her leg around his hip and squeezed him close. She couldn't stand any air between them, she wanted him closer.

She traced the contours of his back down to his waist and pushed gently at the waistband of his sweats, sliding them over his perfect backside and down his legs as far as she could reach. The soft smattering of hair on his thighs tickling her skin.

He helped her rid himself of the sweats, wriggling out of them as best he could. His feet became entangled in the material and he reluctantly had to break away from her free himself. She chuckled as Kaidan cursed in frustration, clearly annoyed with himself, thinking he had ruined the moment.

He hadn't. This was what she loved best, the tiny moments like this that were normal. She's didn't want everything to be perfect and flawless, like some soulless romantic film. She loved that he still fumbled with her bra, that he sometimes said the wrong things. Those moment where the memories she cherished most. The real ones. Like their first attempt at shower sex, that resulted in an angry bruise on her shoulder when they both slipped on the wet tile. Or the time on shore leave when she made him laugh so hard, he snorted lager out of his nose. These moments were the thousand and one tiny sparkling facets, that made their love stronger and more resplendent than then any diamond. These were the reasons she loved him, and she did, with everything she had.

He crawled back up to her and narrowed his eyes. "Shut up, Shepard."

She dragged her fingers across her lips, pretending to zip them shut, locked them and threw away the key.

The grin that spread across his face was so luminous in its honesty, it practically stopped her heart. She loved him so damn much; it felt like she would explode if she didn't say it.

Kaidan ran his hand down her cheek and buried his face into the crook of her neck, grinning as he kissed up to her thundering pulse point. "God, I love you Shepard." He murmured against her neck.

She swallowed and closed her eyes, _here it goes_ "...I love you, Kaidan" She practically breathed the words, but he heard them.

He froze, lips still against her skin, eyes wide. He didn't even breathe.

"What did you say?" he asked when he managed to calm himself enough to keep most of the waver of emotion out of his voice.

She turned her head towards his; still in the crook of her neck, and pressed her lips to his ear. "I love you." She nibbled his earlobe as he took in a sharp breath.

Kaidan pulled back just far enough to meet her eyes. He looked at her with excited wonder, the way a child looks at a shiny new bike under the tree on Christmas morning. Shepard placed a hand on his chest and felt his heart thundering beneath.

"Say it again." He whispered, pressing his lips together.

She smiled broadly as she reached up and ran her fingers through the greying hair on his temples. She loaded the words with sincere emotion, letting her eyes drift closed in a long blink. "Kaidan Alenko, I Love you."

He slowly entered her as she repeated the words, his forehead pressed to hers as he sighed "I love you, baby."

_You're all I need..._

They started moving together, easily finding a rhythm, making love in earnest. Giving form to the words hanging in the air between them.

This wasn't like before, this was different. It wasn't desperate like it was the night before Ilos. Clinging to each other anxiously, fearing that this may be their one and only night together. Their connection feeling intangible and fragile as glass.

It wasn't experimental like it was during shore leave. Learning where and how to touch. Mapping out each others bodies and finding ways to fan the flames of desire.

It wasn't frantic and urgent like it was after their reunion date on the Citadel. Filled with a desperate burning need to recapture what they once had. Almost three years of longing, yearning and pain, that needed to be washed away. Banished from memory and replaced by the ecstasy of being in each others arms.

This was slow, tender. Their eyes locked, as they clung together, lost in each other. Their physical need replaced by an emotional one, the need to connect, to feel completed by each other. Two hearts, once so broken and lost in the galaxy, beating in time with each other. Two souls, twisting and merging like vapour trails from candles burning brightly side by side.

They wholly lost themselves in the rapture of their union. Shepard flared a brilliant blue as she let herself go completely, feeling safe and unabashed. Her biotics hummed and crackled the length of her body. The unchecked dark energy lapping at Kaidan, igniting his own. They cried out in unison, finding their release together, engulfed in the pulsing blue flames.

_You're everything... _

Kaidan rolled onto his back, breathing heavily and pulled Shepard to snuggle to his side. She rested her head on his firm chest, listening as the wild hammering within began to calm. He trailed his fingers up and down her spine, stroking the arm she draped across his stomach.

"You gonna admit, I'm a pretty spectacular date, right?"

She chuckled "You're just pretty spectacular in general, Kaidan. But yes, you're a spectacular date."

"Hmmmmm. Is that what you love about me?"

"I love most things about you." She replied sleepily.

"Most things?" He craned his neck to meet her gaze.

"I could live without the snoring."

He gave her a playful smack on the backside. "I. Do. Not. Snore!"

"Whatever you say, sweetie."

Shepard buried her face into his chest and inhaled deeply, her eyes struggling to stay open.

Kaidan tightened his grip around her and kissed the top of her head. "Go to sleep, baby. I'll make sure your up on time. I may even organise breakfast in bed"

Her eyes drifted shut and she sighed. "I love you."

He would never tire of hearing her say that. How could three little words carry so much weight? Eight letters, to describe the most indescribable feeling in existence, complete and unconditional love.

Her breathing deepened and fell into a steady rhythm as she drifted off to sleep in his arms.

Kaidan reached up and smoothed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes, marvelling at the contented smile on her face. She looked younger than he had ever seen her, unburdened and untroubled. 3 years of agonizing hardship, pain and loss momentarily pushed aside.

He knew there would be more to come. Possibly the most unbearable pain of all, the loss of what they had, the loss of her. They were in the eye of the storm and still had to endure through to the other side. After tonight he felt secure in his love of her. For the first time in a long time he had a clear vision of his future. Solid ground beneath his feet and a home they would made together. A promise before their friends and loved ones that they would they would love unconditionally, forsaking all others. The new lives they would bring into the world, forged in the fires of their love for one another. It was a future that began and ended with Shepard, always Shepard. The Sun to his Earth, lighting and warming him as she burned brightly, holding him close. He would never stop fighting for her, for that future. He would never give up, ever.

He rested his cheek on her head and whispered "I love you, you're everything."

_...Everything._


End file.
